Reflections for Sunday, March 8, 2020 – This United Church of Ours 5
Scripture Reading:  Psalm 32 & Luke 10:1-11, 17-20
Reflection:
“Church Governance and Polity” or “Our United Church, the Old and the New!”
          Most of us probably know what to expect when we read “governance”, but I suspect that many of us (myself included) are somewhat confused about what “polity” means! 
          So I looked it up.  My dictionary says that polity is the form or system or structure of organization of any institution.
          And the form or structure of this church of ours is in the midst of a major transition:  fueled by falling membership, and diminishing funds, our church has been forced to radically re-think its organizational structure in the last few years.
          But lets back up a bit.  In the early 1900’s there was a church on every corner – the Protestant church had many expressions, and in some areas, especially rural, there were not enough ministers, so smaller churches were sharing.  Denominations were beginning to come together informally to share resources – especially ministers.
          So formal talks aimed at consolidation of the fragmented body of Christ began in earnest, culminating in church union and the formation of the United Church of Canada by an Act of Parliament in 1925.  This Union involved the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church, the Congregational Union of Quebec and Ontario, and the Association of Local Union Churches (mostly on the Prairie Provinces).  In 1968 the Canadian Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined the UCC.
          Membership peaked in 1964 at 1.1 million, and has been declining ever since. 
          Polity – or organizational structure.   The UCC has a “council-based” structure.  Each council (congregational, regional, denominational) has certain responsibilities with some areas of overlap. You will notice I mentioned only three areas.  Originally there were four courts of the UCC:  General Council (national), Conference (provincial), Presbytery (regional) and Congregational.  The re-structuring necessitated by our falling membership and revenues has resulted in the elimination of one of the four courts: basically the Conferences and the Presbyteries have been combined with some reductions to form broad geographical Regions. So as of 2019, we have Communities of Faith councils, Regional councils (16) and General Council (the denominational face of the UCC).
          So how does this work?  Congregations send delegates to Regional meetings. (Our region is Pacific Mountain and covers all of BC and the Rockies)  Delegates are sent from each Region to General Council meetings every 3 years, where broad issues of the church are discussed and voted upon.  General Council also elects the Moderator for a 3 year term, and provides direction for the Manual which lays out in detail the polity of the church:  how things shall be done and by whom. The Manual was first produced in 1925, and is updated on a regular basis.
          The Moderator can be an ordained person or a lay person.  There are no restrictions of gender, age, marital status, race or sexual orientation.  This person is elected by the delegates at General Council, and is the spiritual leader and public representative of the church for the three year term.  The current Moderator is the Right Reverend Dr. Richard Bott of North Vancouver, who is the 43rd Moderator of the UCC.
          The clergy of the UCC are called “ministers” and there are presently 3 streams of paid accountable ministry:  ordained, diaconal, (ordered),and designated lay (recognized).  There are also staff associates, lay worship leaders, music directors, sacraments elders, and congregational designated ministers.  There are no restrictions on gender, sexual orientation, age, or marital status for any branches of ministry.
          The crest was designed for the new church and is in Latin a “vesica piscis” an early Christian symbol reminding us of an upturned fish. The initials of “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour” in Greek spell icthyos, which means “fish”.  In the centre is the Greek letter chi – first letter of the word for Christ.  Three of the four quadrants display symbols of the founding churches: the burning bush (Presbyterianism), the dove (Methodism), and the open Bible (Congregationalism). The symbol for the Alpha and Omega is in the 4th quadrant representing the Living God (Revelation 1:8).  The motto “Ut omnes unum sint” means “That all may be one.”
          In 2012 a Mohawk phrase “Akwe Nia’tetewa:neren” which means “All my relations” was added in the perimeter ribbon, and the quadrant colours were changed to the traditional colours of the First Nations Medicine Wheel.
          The ordination of women in the UCC remained a contentious issue until 1936 when Rev. Lydia Emelie Gruchy of Saskatchewan Conference became the first woman to be ordained in our church.  In 1953 she became the first woman to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
          The Second World War proved a divisive issue within the church as many supported the war effort, but many also took a pacifist stance.  On the West Coast ministers and missionaries were very opposed to the treatment of Japanese Canadians, and formed an Emergency Japanese Committee to advocate for the rights of dislocated people.  The UCC continues to supply Chaplains for the armed forces in Canada.
          The UCC has been in talks with the Anglican church regarding amalgamation since 1943, but this has not happened yet.  We were also one of the founding bodies of the Canadian Council of Churches in 1944, and the World Council of Churches in 1946.
          By 1971, the possibility of Anglican – United church union was still alive, and the joint Hymn Book was published.  But by 1975 the Plan of Union was deemed unacceptable by the Anglicans.  However, the Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic and United churches did all agree to recognize the validity of baptisms done in any of these denominations.
          As part of the agreement to Union in 1925, the UCC inherited participation in and responsibility for some native residential schools which were designed to assimilate native children into Canadian culture.  By the 1940’s thinking around this issue had changed significantly, and  in 1949 the UC began to close those schools in its care.  However it wasn’t till the 1990’s that the church faced the legacy of cultural assimilation and child abuse in the residential schools that it had once helped to run.  In 1992 the first Native Canadian Moderator, Rev. Stan McKay, a Cree man, was elected.  Two years later, a “Healing Fund” was established, followed in 1998 by an official Apology made by the church to former students of the residential schools.
          In 1980 the first female Moderator was elected, the Rev. Lois Wilson. She faced a great deal of opposition, as the problem of the inequality of women in the church persisted.
          Also in 1980 a paper titled “In God’s Image” was released at the 28th General Council.  It dealt with sexual ethics and recommended the admission of homosexuals into the ministry and tolerance of premarital sex.  Abortion was to be accepted under certain conditions, but not abortion on demand.
          At the  32nd General Council in 1988, the commissioners passed a statement called, “Membership, Ministry, and Human Sexuality”, which stated that: “all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, who profess their faith in Jesus Christ are welcome to be or become members of the United Church of Canada” and that “all members of the United Church are eligible to be considered for ordered ministry.” This meant that openly gay men and women were now able to join the ministry.
          1988 was a watershed year for the UCC.  Membership fell by 78,184.  Many congregations were split right down the middle on this issue.  Many churches now undertake a mission to become an “Affirming Congregation” – a congregation that works at understanding what its biases are and consciously strives to be more loving, more accepting, more tolerant of human diversity. In 2005 the UCC urged the government to pass same-sex marriage legislation, and encouraged it after it passed, to refuse to reopen the issue.
          In 2012 the 41st General Council elected the first openly gay Moderator, Gary Paterson.  At this same meeting, the Report of the Working Group on Israel/Palestine Policy was adopted, calling for a boycott of all goods produced in the settlements.  This remains a controversial and divisive policy and is opposed by several Canadian Jewish groups.
          In 1996 our modern hymnary “Voices United” was published, and its supplement, “More Voices” was added in 2006.
          In 2001 in the face of continuing decline in church membership and revenues, General Council offices were reorganized to reduce costs.
          In 2005 the church continued in good faith to welcome the Agreement in Principle of the Government of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations, outlining a comprehensive resolution package for former students of the Indian residential schools.  In 2006 we agreed to sign the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
          By 2015 at the 42nd General Council, it was decided to reorganize the structure of our church from a four-court to a three-court model. Arbitrary settlement of new ministers was abolished, the whole process of finding and training new ministers was changed, and a new funding model introduced.  All these changes were approved by local congregations and presbyteries and then ratified at the next (43rd) General Council in 2018.
          Members of our church are modern day disciples of Jesus.  To be a member a person must be baptized (most often as an infant) and then after a course of study called “confirmation” at the age of 12 or so, the person is admitted to full membership in the church after making a profession of faith before the congregation.  Membership is national, being recognized in any United Church across the land.
          When Jesus sent his disciples out to serve others, I’m pretty sure he had no idea what that would look like in 2020!   But here we are, our faith unshaken, and our resolve as strong as ever.  The United Church of Canada is the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. According to Wikipedia we minister to over 2 million people in about 3000 congregations.  Our history is very closely entwined with the history of our country Canada, and we continue to be a socially progressive and forward looking church of which I am proud to be a member.
 
         
 
 

Reflections for Sunday, March 15, 2020, UCC 6
1st Scripture Reading:  Psalm 95 & Exodus 17:1-7
Reflection:
          Have you heard the expression “Water is Life”? Most of us have, and most of us understand that water is essential to life as we know it.  The presence or absence of water on a distant planet, for example, is a good indicator of whether or not life forms might be found there.
          So it’s not hard to imagine the desperation of a people, wandering thru a desert land, and not finding water!  And who do they blame?  Their leader of course:  Moses.   And a beleaguered Moses turns to God: “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
          All things have certain requirements that are critical to their life.  People, animals and plants all require water to survive.  Many industries require water to survive, and many of those have other requirements as well – and chief among those is MONEY!  Money pays the bills, the payroll, the mortgage, the rent.  Money buys the raw materials and pays for the brains that plot the critical path forward to making a profit.
          Churches, like all other institutions and organizations, require money to survive as well.  Governments require money in the form of tax revenues to provide the services that the people want and need.  Money for the running and maintenance of a church also comes from the people – in the form of offerings.
          Taxes and offerings – there is only one place that money can come from – and it is from the good will of the people.  Governments do not in this country support churches financially.
          Typically there are four ways churches get the money required to keep the doors open.  The first is the oldest, and it is called tithing.  This method is biblically mandated, and means that 10% of a persons income before deductions of any kind are given to God – to the church.  Not many adherents in the United Church tithe these days.
          The second way the church gets money is thru bequests – money that is willed to the church thru what is called “planned giving”.  This way is infrequent, not predictable, but very welcome when it happens.
          The third, and by far the most common way is Sunday givings on the offering plate.  These can be cash or cheques, and are often in envelopes designed for that purpose.   This is the backbone of our revenue stream and ranges from a dollar or two to a hundred dollars or more per week per member.
          The fourth way is by pledging which can take the form of post-dated cheques or PAR (direct deposit) to the church bank account.
          We post the financial position of this church on your bulletin so you can see where we are at this time relative to the budget which you examined at the AGM.  Each of us has a responsibility to help make the budget, and to see that the budget is met.
          I do believe that God provides for all our needs according to God’s goodness, and that we all work together to be the rock that holds our church together.
 
Hymn #87 MV “Water flowing from the mountain”
 
 
 
2nd Scripture Reading:  John 4:5-42
Reflection:
          But money is “the root of all evil”, right?  Wrong.  Money, like our sexuality is a gift of God. It’s how we use these gifts that determines their value.  Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”
          In our society money has become very important. And we are a very materialistic culture.  “Christianity”, according to Ralph Milton, “is a very materialistic religion.  Worldly things, like sex, money, and politics are the very things it deals with.  Some other major religions try to get you away from all that.  Salvation becomes so spiritual that nasty things like money and sex simply don’t affect you any more.  But Christianity doesn’t take you away from anything.  Christianity takes you right into the middle and helps you use what you have creatively.  Our money and our sexuality are gifts of God.
          The founder of our church, Jesus Christ, got lots of bad press because he insisted on being involved with earthy things.  Not that he was particularly concerned with people’s wealth (unless it came at somebody else’s expense). but he was very concerned about what people did with their wealth and power, with their time and talents, and with their bodies.
          Most of all he was concerned about their attitudes.  “Where your treasure is,” said Jesus, “there your heart will be also.” In other words, when you take out your cheque book or your credit card you are expressing your faith.  Or lack of it.”
          But water is the theme of our scriptures today, isn’t it?  We see it happening again in the reading from the Gospel of John.  And it’s a very “earthy” story with elements of sexual impropriety, racism, sexism and the healing properties of water as expressed by Jesus:  “those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”
          The Samaritan woman was socially and racially unacceptable to Jesus’ companions who were racially pure Jews. Jewish men did not talk to Samaritan women, especially those alone.  And this woman was flawed – she had had five husbands, and the man she was with now was not her husband.  In the patriarchal culture of the day, women had few choices.  If her husband threw her out she was unprotected in a world of extravagant male privilege. She couldn’t support herself – her options would have been to find another man to marry her, throw herself on the mercy of her family, or prostitution.
          But Jesus focusses on what they have in common – the need for the life-giving properties of water.  And he teaches her, as he taught Mary, and he charges her to take his message of salvation and healing to the men of her village – much as he charged Mary after the resurrection.  There is a very strong healing message for women in this passage – and an equally strong message to men about how they treat women.
          But what does this have to do with money and the church?  As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there is where your heart will be.” Do we treasure justice? Do we practise compassion? Is the dignity and value of every child of God important to us, and worthy of protection? Are freedom and equal opportunity worth fighting for?  These are the things Jesus teaches us are the real treasure, and he embodies these values and challenges us to step up to the plate and continue his work.  Money is a form of our energy. Money is what we use to support the work of being a follower of Jesus.  Money puts food in the food bank, supports social programs for the elderly and marginalized.  Money supports women’s shelters and shelters for the homeless.  And money keeps churches open as places of worship, fellowship, and spiritual support for the ideals and values we say that we believe are important.
          We need to ask ourselves, how important is this church to us?  Is it worth 10% of our income?  Say 5% to Mission and Service, and 5% to the local church?  Is it worth pledging a monthly amount, so the church Board has a better idea what financial support it has for the coming year?  Is it important to donate what you would normally give, even if you plan to be away?
          You have probably heard it said that it is better to give than to receive.  In terms of spiritual growth, the development of our faith and our integrity as Christians, yes, it is better to give. Regular giving strengthens our resolve to do the work of Christ, and heals us on many levels.  We feel better about ourselves and about our relationship with God and with the risen Christ. As we fellowship with like-minded people we become a force for good in the world.
          Like a healing stream, our good intentions supported by our money, flow out into the world. Like a healing stream…
 
Hymn #144 MV “Like a Healing Stream”
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Reflections for Sunday, February 23, 2020 – UCC3
“How then shall we live?”
Scripture Reading:  Psalm 1  &  Matthew 17:1-9
Reflection:
          These are challenging times for all of us.  I offered a Peace Meditation last Sunday to the wider community, sensing that there is a lot of anger and anxiety building amongst us.  Nine people participated, and my concerns were affirmed.  Doing something about what is upsetting us is often helpful, and the group seemed to find that this indeed is so.  Choices must be made, action must be taken. Peace and harmony need to be restored.
          The psalmist offers two choices:  we can follow the Law of God (God who is good, who is love), or we can walk in the way of the wicked. Happy are those who walk in the way of God, and lost are those who do not, the writer says.
          Jesus actively and publicly chooses to follow the way of God. For our benefit, he puts himself close to God and is transfigured before witnesses in that place.  Choosing to be one with God is a transforming experience.  Jesus is enveloped in dazzling white light, so that his very person glows so brightly that his disciples are amazed, and when they hear a voice from the clouds saying:  “This is my son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased,” when they hear this they are overcome.
          Choosing to follow in the Way of Jesus, the Way of Love is what we in the United Church aspire to do.  We deeply buy into the mission of Jesus to “bring good news to the poor…to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go  free…”  We care deeply about “feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.” Social justice issues are of primary importance to many of our members.  We support the Food Banks ( and often initiate them), we fund raise for missions locally and overseas, we attempt to be welcoming to any and all people who come our way.  What we maybe aren’t so good at is sharing the good news of the work of Jesus the Christ in terms of our own spiritual salvation or health or transfiguration. 
Jesus showed us how to live by his own example:  he healed the sick, he taught the spiritually blind to see, he spoke truth to power, and he suffered the consequences of resisting injustice.
          Yes, we need to emulate the way he lived, but the spiritual rewards of following Jesus are so much greater for each of us personally, that out of gratitude for the happiness and joy we feel when we do, we need to try to share what we know with others.  In this way our society will be transformed, we will be transformed, and God’s kindom will continue to grow on Earth.
          What is not helpful right now is the feeling of separation that is being encouraged between Canadians of different ethnicity.  We are all children of the Living God, and we all have opinions, needs and priorities.  Some groups are more powerful than others, and this imbalance of power can be very divisive, and result in the perpetuation of injustice.  As Christians it is part of our mission and mandate to speak truth to power and to try to heal the divisions and inequalities that have persisted for far too long in our country.
          As Christians it is also part of our mission to care for generations to come, to be good stewards of the land, air and water for the benefit of all God’s children, and all of God’s Creation.
          Let’s sing together “Many are the Lightbeams” as we remind ourselves that there is only one God, one Creator of all that is, and that the Light of this one God burns brightly in each of us who chooses to see.
Hymn #588VU “Many are the Lightbeams”
 
Prayers of the People:
Let us pray:
It is part of the rhythm of our congregation’s life, Loving God, to gather this time of year to take stock of how we have answered your call into the world – this world that you so love.
You call us to love one another as you have loved us.
You call us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves – even if that neighbour is a stranger to us, or just strange in our perception.
You call us to love our enemies and even those who persecute us – despite how painful that may become. 
You call us to shepherd your good creation by paying attention to the intricacies, the interdependence, the interconnectedness, and the wonder of life in our loving.
You call us to your mission and your ministry in this place as people of faith.
May you bless what we do in our meeting today, as we come together as this community of faith.
Guide our deliberations, inform our debates, and affirm our discipleship, we pray.  Journey with us in all we express and choose.
(Gord Dunbar, Kincardine PC, Kincardine, Ontario in “Gathering” ACE 2019-20 adapted )
 

Reflections for Sunday, February 16, 2020  - UCC 3
1st Scripture Reading:  Matthew 3:13-17 & Matthew 26:26-28
Reflection:  Baptism and Communion
          Baptism and Communion…these are the only two “sacraments” the United Church of Canada recognizes – tho it does respect that other faith traditions honour different ones.  Does everyone know what a “sacrament” is?  A sacrament is a ritual expressing a truth too profound to be adequately expressed in words. It is something so holy that it is only truly understood by experiencing it.  Like love it is something you only really know if it has happened to you – and so , like love, it is a mystery.  We act out that mystery in the sacraments of baptism and communion.
          Let’s deal first with baptism.  In the UCC we mostly practise infant baptism.  Now the baby doesn’t know what happens to it, but the parents do – and they covenant with the church and with God to raise this child as a Christian – to teach it and support it to live in the Way of Jesus.  At the age of 12 or so, children traditionally attend confirmation classes and then are accepted into membership of the United Church.
Such infant baptisms are recognized by most Christian churches, and we recognize baptisms of all Christian denominations.  Adult baptisms may be done in our churches if a person has not been baptized at all.
          So baptism is a sacrament – a sacred act.  But what makes it so?  What I just described sounded pretty cut and dried…  It’s about that covenant with God – the promises we make to the Divine.  It’s about something we call “grace”.  In the holy moments of a baptism ceremony we can feel that we are all in the presence of our God.  We know – we can feel – that we are in the midst of that Presence – of that Mystery.  We experience in those moments the unconditional Love of God surrounding and filling us – unconditional, undeserved, for everyone of us, all the time.  Grace.  Like the dove descending on Jesus at his baptism – a blessing, a sense of relationship, Grace.
          And the second of our sacraments is Holy Communion.  As Christians we understand that Jesus is the role model – Jesus is the way-shower – Jesus set the mold.  In his last days he gave us a gift – a way to remember who we are and whose we are – and whose Way we will follow.  We remember his great work, in the breaking of the bread – symbolic of his body broken for us, and in the pouring of the wine – symbolic of his lifeblood poured out for us – and more than that, we participate in his life and being by sharing in the mystery of being one with him, and thru him being one with the Divine – one with God and with all that is.  And so, once again, there is Grace.  The UCC has what is called “open communion” – no one is excluded from participating in this sacrament.  We come to this table not because we are good or deserving, but because we need to be here – we need to feel God’s great love – we need to know God’s Grace.
          There are many layers to these sacraments.  We will all spend a lifetime deepening our understanding of these mysteries.  But we have the best of teachers, and thru his loving presence we will be spiritually fed.  We are not alone.  Thanks be to God.
 
Hymn #460 VU “All Who Hunger”
 
2nd Scripture Reading:  Mark 16:1-7  &  Luke 24:36-47
Reflection:  In life, in death, in life beyond death…We are not alone.”
          No, we are never alone. These are words from “A Song of Faith” – a church document we will talk more about at a later date.  But I want to say  it is a modern and very poetic statement of what the United Church stands for.  I am personally proud to be a member of such a forward-looking, socially progressive church.
          And one of the places this really shows is in how we deal with weddings.  Some think we are way to easy going when it comes to marriage – while others praise us for being so open-minded!  We encourage couples to tell us what marriage means to them, and what they want to happen in their wedding ceremony.  Some even write their own ceremony, though this must meet the approval of the officiating minister, including the vows.  And so, many people from other less tolerant denominations come to us for weddings.  Some churches will not remarry divorced persons, or marry homosexuals, or couples where one party is not a member of that church. Some couples want ethnic elements included, or even traditions from other religions.  I personally did a wedding where I shared the service with an indigenous elder.
          We also believe that the church council or Board has a great deal of responsibility for the individual community of faith, and so it makes the final decision about who can be married in that building. 
          We are all children of a God who is Love, and so the expression of committed loving relationship between two people is worthy of the support of the Christian community. Many marriages these days are done by United Church clergy outside of a church building – in nature or in a home garden, for instance, and often for people who aren’t members of any church.
          Marriage preparation, though a really good idea, is often brief as couples are living together for years before they decide to “tie the knot”. So they think they have figured it all out!  But learning to live together in covenantal or committed relationship is not easy – I believe it is a spiritual discipline.  In marriage we learn how to truly love one another after the honeymoon is over.         
          And so we marry, and we have children, and we baptize them, nurture them, send them out into the world, retire from our careers, and then what?  Eventually, we die.  This is the “dispatch” part of our theme.  Used to be that everyone had a funeral when they died – in the church, and then got buried in the churchyard.  I saw those church yards in England.  They are neglected now, and young parents take their children there to play (in London where I was).
          These days funerals are not so popular.  People prefer a Memorial Service, or a Celebration of Life.  They often don’t even want a religious service and so these events may be coordinated by a funeral home director or  family members.
          Too often, tho, it seems that people are not doing any kind of memorial service because the deceased person said they didn’t want one!  We forget that this ritual is not for the person who died, but for those who survive him or her.  It is a necessary part of our grieving process and so important for the healing of the loss of a loved one.
          What we are also losing is this sense of the continuity of life that Jesus tried to show us in his resurrection story.  We don’t really know what happens to us after death, but for Christians it is helpful to believe that something better lies around the corner, and that the whole exercise of living and loving and learning has not been for nothing.
          And so within the church we are “hatched, matched, and dispatched” – a light-hearted way to talk about the cycle of our lives within our communities of faith.  These rituals and sacraments are important signposts along the way.  We mark them to add meaning to  our lives, and to celebrate significant transitions and learnings along the way.  These events are spiritual , they are cultural, and in some ways they are traditional – and they are living breathing expressions of who we are in this moment, in the context of our times.  As we learn and grow thru these experiences, we become the Christ – we approach the great Mystery.
 
Hymn #703 VU “In the Bulb there is a Flower”
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Reflections for Sunday, February 9, 2020 – UCC 2
1st Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 58:9b-12, and Acts 2:42
Reflection: “What we do and why we do it!”
          The first converts to this new religion of Christianity, “devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.”  And what we do in church on Sunday morning pretty much echoes these words from the book of Acts.
          We come together as a community of faith to fellowship, to worship, to share in the sacrament of Holy Communion, and to pray.  We study the scriptures, we sing songs of praise and inspiration, we share our thoughts and insights, and we pray together.  As followers of Jesus the Christ, we believe his teachings are central to our own spiritual growth, and so we come together as disciples – students – of a great teacher.
          But there is no one way to do that.  In Ralph Milton’s book he describes a wide variety of expressions of what it is to be a United Church in Canada.  From very traditional to very modern and innovative, our churches are working hard to listen and to hear what God might be doing or challenging us to do in this new world of 2020.
          Ralph Milton talks about a large, old, cathedral type church whose lead minister spends much time and effort to finely craft weekly sermons that are erudite, beautifully crafted, and which in Ralph’s words: “not enough people will hear.”  That church continues to be funded by a few old families in Ontario, in spite of shrinking attendance and empty pews.
          And he talks about a church that has lost its building, but continues to meet in a school auditorium, having decided to use the funds from it’s old building to construct a senior’s complex with a smaller church as part of it.
          Another church, having lost most of its congregation due to creeping urbanization, has decided to serve the more inner city population that now surrounds it. They are working a food bank, a clothing depot and a weekly community lunch.  This congregation, Ralph says, knows that without growth it’s survival is doubtful, but it plans to finish up as a missional church anyway – serving those in need as they are called to do as disciples of Jesus.
          A common theme runs thru these descriptions of churches large and small:  all are attempting to do the will of God as they understand it.  As the prophet Isaiah says: “If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.  The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.”
 
Hymn #356 VU “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God”
 
2nd Scripture Reading:  Luke 4:16-21 and Matthew 5:13-16
Reflection:
          As we said last week, the United Church of Canada came into existence by an act of parliament June 10, 1925.  Officially, then, our community is all of Canada. The founders of this church had a firm belief that their mission was to unite “the fragmented body of Christ”.
          Mission.  That word means a purpose – and in the church it means a purpose guided by God or Holy Spirit.  In our reading from Luke this morning we here Jesus define his mission from God.  And it is a nod to his Jewish tradition:  a reading originally from the book of Isaiah.  We remember that Jesus was a Jew – he knew his scriptures and he respected his religious roots. And he knew his mission – the reason he was alive in this time and place. 
          From that place of knowing, Jesus reached out into community.  He taught in the synagogue, he called disciples – people to teach and then to help him fulfil his mission.  He knew he couldn’t do it alone.
          Jesus was called to his mission – he understood himself to be the anointed one.  He then called his disciples to share in his mission.  Do you ever wonder why you are here?  Why are you a member of this congregation?  Especially at this time when so many feel no attraction to church at all!
          The United Church of Canada is a missional church.  We feel the need to act in the world, in the Way of Jesus, following his teachings.  We feel that we are part of his great mission.
          And so when one of our faith family is inspired to offer a community Christmas dinner, on Christmas day, to any and all of our neighbours, we know we have been “called” and we embrace this call and offer our love to the larger community around us.
          To be “salt and light” as the gospel says, to shine our light into the world, to offer a flavour of love and justice and kindness and healing to a broken world – this is what Jesus has called us to be and to do.  We find many ways to live out this calling.  We offer our church as a meeting place for groups like AA and Trims – support groups like this enrich our community life.  We offer a healing ministry – energy healing for those whose bodies or spirits are wounded. We have an active UCW group that works to support the work of this church and other worthy causes.  There is a prayer group that intentionally responds to requests for prayer. We offer according to our gifts and our own particular calling.  Musicians, cleaners, drivers, bakers and friendly visitors.  The teachings of Jesus must be lived out.  We are called to take those teachings into the world – to be a blessing to those around us. We are called to love, and not to judge, to forgive and offer a helping hand.  We take this calling seriously, or we would not be here. We are the salt and the light, spreading into the community around us the Way of Love – the Way of Jesus. 
          And we know that Love heals all wounds, and Divine Love is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
 
Hymn #144 MV “Like a Healing Stream”
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